Rovers close to fifth Portuguese signing after Etuhu joins up in Holland (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Blackburn Rovers & Premier League Table & Results
Rovers close to fifth Portuguese signing after Etuhu joins up in Holland
6:00am Saturday 4th August 2012 in Blackburn Rovers & Premier League Table & Results
By Andy Cryer, Blackburn Rovers reporter
DICKSON Etuhu will join his new team-mates in Holland today after completing his move to Ewood Park – as Blackburn Rovers also close in on their fifth Portuguese signing of the summer.
Etuhu yesterday joined Rovers from Fulham in a deal worth around £1.5m, putting pen to paper on a four-year contract after passing a medical. And the Lancashire Telegraph understands that Rovers are also closing in on a deal for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Diogo Rosado.
The 22-year-old, a former Portugal under 21 international, spent last season on loan at Feirense, and underwent a medical yesterday.
Rovers are expected to complete the signing in the next couple of days, with Rosado following Portuguese compatriots Nuno Gomes, Fabio Nunes, Paulo Jorge and Edinho to Ewood this summer.
Etuhu jets out to Holland this morning to link up with the Rovers squad ahead of the second and final game of their pre-season tour against NEC Nijmegen tomorrow afternoon, kick-off 1.30pm.
The 30-year-old Nigerian international, who started his career at Manchester City, is the second Fulham player to join Rovers this summer after Danny Murphy and is expected to partner his former Cottagers team-mate in central midfield.
Rovers were in action against Go Ahead Eagles last night in their first game of their tour of Holland and Etuhu will link up with the squad today ahead of their second and final match in the country against NEC Nijmegen tomorrow afternoon, kick-off 1.30pm.
Rovers were yesterday waiting for Huddersfield Town’s response to a bid for striker Jordan Rhodes, lodged on Thursday.
It is expected to take an offer in excess of £6m to land the highly-rated 22-year-old, who netted 40 times last season, but Rovers are willing to offer a lucrative package in an attempt to stave off rival interest.
Fulham are among those thought to be interested. But Etuhu is already Rovers’ seventh signing of the summer and boss Steve Kean said: "Dickson is a player I have admired for a long time and he will be a fantastic addition to the squad.
"He is a powerhouse in midfield, who has played at the highest level with Fulham and we feel confident he will complement our other midfield options."
Etuhu featured for Fulham in the Europa League final two years ago and also previously represented Sunderland, Norwich and Preston.
He was born in the Nigerian city of Kano and has 17 caps for his country after making his debut in 2007 - although he grew up in London along with younger brother Kelvin, who plays for Barnsley.
Comments(44)
dallydally
says...
7:03am Sat 4 Aug 12
Dan11
says...
7:25am Sat 4 Aug 12
-
Onto serious matters though, and that is namely, how many of these new Portugese players will actually feature in the first team other than Nuno Gomes?
-
70% of a teams success is the manager anyway. So even though the squad has improved compared to the one that started last season. Kean is still there.
-
Karl Pilkington OUT
Steve Kean is not a football manager.
You are aving a larf
AndyW
says...
7:53am Sat 4 Aug 12
Is this why the signing was suggested and intigated completely by Murphy?
Kean in 'lies' shocker...
Tanner1983
says...
7:57am Sat 4 Aug 12
Captain Dreckley
says...
8:21am Sat 4 Aug 12
Kean out
bburnrover
says...
8:44am Sat 4 Aug 12
ians,Swiss,Dutch etc etc the only reason why is that Kean can speak Portugese.
Why does Shebby go along with this fiasco?How do we get rid of 5 players when Kean is fired?
jackmetickler
says...
9:03am Sat 4 Aug 12
I'll bet a years mortgage that he has his greedy little mits in this.
how many Portugese players have made an impact in the Championship.
I can only think of one who has made any real impact on English Football... and he was a bit of an exception to the rule.
Time will tell.... but I seem to remember the same flannel when the south american lads turned up.... and!
Harwoodstblue
says...
9:13am Sat 4 Aug 12
jackmetickler wrote:They're cheap to bring in. Portugal's going bust. They can get them for virtually nothing and pay them peanuts.. Sound familiar ? Typical Venkey strategy.
ok .... has Anderson opened a Portugese branch or something;
I'll bet a years mortgage that he has his greedy little mits in this.
how many Portugese players have made an impact in the Championship.
I can only think of one who has made any real impact on English Football... and he was a bit of an exception to the rule.
Time will tell.... but I seem to remember the same flannel when the south american lads turned up.... and!
Why don't they make a statement as to what their thinking is behind all these Portuguese signings ?
Shebby's here to communicate. Why doesn't he say something ?
stick to football
says...
9:13am Sat 4 Aug 12
Why Portugese with no experience of Championship football - like last season if you enough you might get one to succeed.
Obviously Goodwillie and Pederson will be out -scoring good goals
Roll on the new season
srvp28
says...
9:15am Sat 4 Aug 12
srvp28
says...
9:16am Sat 4 Aug 12
Harwoodstblue wrote:Hopefully someone will ask him next Saturday.
jackmetickler wrote:They're cheap to bring in. Portugal's going bust. They can get them for virtually nothing and pay them peanuts.. Sound familiar ? Typical Venkey strategy.
ok .... has Anderson opened a Portugese branch or something;
I'll bet a years mortgage that he has his greedy little mits in this.
how many Portugese players have made an impact in the Championship.
I can only think of one who has made any real impact on English Football... and he was a bit of an exception to the rule.
Time will tell.... but I seem to remember the same flannel when the south american lads turned up.... and!
Why don't they make a statement as to what their thinking is behind all these Portuguese signings ?
Shebby's here to communicate. Why doesn't he say something ?
hasslem hasslem
says...
9:28am Sat 4 Aug 12
.
a fish rots from the head down and summat smells very fishy round here.
.
i genuinely dont think this shebby sham ("words are cheap") has it in his power to dump kean - but if he does, then prehaps its best that we get a real hammering at portman road and hull give us a bl00dy nose at ewood before it is too late. i am not thinking of promotion - i am thinking of survival.
r30vrs
says...
9:36am Sat 4 Aug 12
Rovers 1495
says...
9:42am Sat 4 Aug 12
r30vrs wrote:And how come the transfer goes through in the blink of an eye, when Rhodes takes an age in comparison ?
This guy looks quality, and has attracted interest from top premier league sides. Could be a great signing!
givet82
says...
9:44am Sat 4 Aug 12
There is nothing new about players being foisted on a manager, even Jose Mourinho has suffered in this way. Either currently, or recently, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, West Ham and Newcastle are among Premier League clubs where signings have been made at the instigation of an owner, chairman, chief executive or director of football. On the continent the practice is commonplace.
The club provides the players, the manager coaches them. A refinement of this looks to be the future at Liverpool. The manager will request a type, such as an attacking right-back, and Damien Comolli, the director of football strategy, will either present him with a shortlist, or simply deliver one. Sometimes it works, on other occasions it does not, as Rafael Benitez made clear when he left Valencia complaining, "I wanted a sofa and they bought me a lampshade."
However, what appears to be on the cards at Blackburn is another step entirely. Their buying policy, it is claimed, will be influenced by the client list of a major agent.
So far the Premier League chiefs profess themselves unconcerned by the close relationship between Kentaro, a Swiss sports rights agency, Sports Entertainment and Media Group (SEM), a players' management agency, and Blackburn's new owners, the Indian poultry magnates Venky's. However, they will be keeping an eye on the situation.
It has been suggested Kentaro might use Blackburn as a shop window, much as Kia Joorabchian did in parking Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano at West Ham. The big difference since then is that third-party ownership has been outlawed.
Whatever Kentaro's intentions they will have been carefully planned, as the company has quickly spread its influence way beyond the small Swiss town of Wil in which it is based. It began in 2003 when two Swiss, Philipp Grothe and Philippe Huber, decided to pool their experience and contacts in the sports rights market. They soon struck broadcast deals in boxing and football but did not come to attention in England until 2005 when they arranged the friendly against Argentina in Geneva. That launched a new niche industry, staging high-profile friendlies in neutral venues with the bulk of the income realised through TV rights.
Kentaro signed agreements with the Argentine and Brazilian FAs to sell their friendlies. London and Doha have become regular venues, England playing Brazil in the latter last year. However, home fans only see Brazil and Argentina play in competitive matches, and the schedules can appear to be against the teams' interests. Before the 2006 World Cup, Brazil's preparation included a match in sub-zero temperatures in Moscow and friendlies against Lucerne and New Zealand. Tickets were sold for training sessions. Before the 2010 World Cup, they played in Zimbabwe, on a poor pitch against weak opposition. Brazil lost in the quarter-finals in both competitions.
Kentaro has also sold TV rights for the Football Association (including England and the FA Cup) and several clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, giving it a strong foothold in the UK. It agreed a "corporate partnership deal" with SEM in February last year – Kentaro already owned a Nordic agency. Its 60 staff include Jonathan Hill, previously commercial director at the FA. Emmanuel Petit, the ex-Arsenal and France midfielder, is a founding shareholder. Kentaro also provides television production, marketing and financial services. In short, Kentaro is a seriously influential and well-connected player in the football business. Quite what it will be doing at Blackburn is less obvious and Rovers fans will hope its influence proves less damaging than potentially similar ventures in Belgium and Brazil.
In 2001, Jean-Marc Guillou, founder of the successful ASEC Mimosas academy in Ivory Coast, took over Beveren. He used it as a shop window importing many Ivorians including Yaya Touré and Emmanuel Eboué. The team reached the Belgian Cup final, but of the starting XI 10 were Ivorian. After pressure from Fifa, and within Belgium, Guillou pulled out in 2007. The club were relegated soon after.
In 2004, Joorabchian bought the Brazilian club Corinthians through a company called Media Sports Investments. MSI embarked upon a transfer splash, including Tevez for a Brazilian record fee. Corinthians won the title, but most of the players belonged wholly or partly to MSI. When the relationship foundered in 2007 it emerged Corinthians only owned five of their squad. Six months later they were relegated.
Strict work-permit rules, and the ban on third-party ownership, means neither of these cases could be exactly replicated in the Premier League, but there is no rule to prevent Rovers exclusively signing SEM clients, or owners dictating transfer policy by phone from India or Switzerland. Former owner Jack Walker can never have imagined such consequences when he decided to put his hometown club back on the football map.
Gaz M
says...
10:09am Sat 4 Aug 12
Gaz M
says...
10:28am Sat 4 Aug 12
rankoutsider
says...
10:34am Sat 4 Aug 12
o.uk/magazine/featur
es/120730/portuguese
-midfielder-who-coul
d-spark-transfer-war
-between-liverpool-a
nd-177614 interesting article from a uk source
baldie
says...
10:55am Sat 4 Aug 12
rankoutsider wrote:Thanks for that.
http://m.talksport.c
o.uk/magazine/featur
es/120730/portuguese
-midfielder-who-coul
d-spark-transfer-war
-between-liverpool-a
nd-177614 interesting article from a uk source
Difficult to see any negatives from that article,but it isn't 11 oclock yet so we've got all day to make some up.
dangerous dave
says...
11:07am Sat 4 Aug 12
As for Kean just more garbage spouted from his 'big mouth' - most of these signings wont play a part in playing for the Rovers but will be difficult to off load when Keans time comes to an end and it will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!
OUT WITH KEAN AGNEW SINGH VENKYS AND HENDRY
whittleblue
says...
11:52am Sat 4 Aug 12
carlmc1
says...
11:54am Sat 4 Aug 12
I have nothing against the Portugese, but I had nothing against certain players agents, until I realised that the best interests of the clubs were not necessarily at the heart of these deals.
I have the horrible feeling that we will find some sinister goings on very soon that lead to Portugal. Maybe hidden fees, or clauses in contracts that mean the team is compromised in some way. Five Portugese players suddenly arriving in no time at all is very suspicious.
whittleblue
says...
12:37pm Sat 4 Aug 12
Looks suspiciously like another one for the so called future. All very questionable.
Londonrover24k
says...
1:04pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast
says...
1:25pm Sat 4 Aug 12
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Harwoodstblue
says...
1:53pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast wrote:Rovers have lost 10.000 season ticket holders since last year and for very good reason. If the 10,000 are wrong, you must be right !!!!!
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Dan11
says...
2:12pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast
says...
2:40pm Sat 4 Aug 12
Harwoodstblue wrote:The very good reason is they are not very good supporters. Its equally counter productive to turn up at Ewood to be the other teams twelfth man.
the_iconoclast wrote:Rovers have lost 10.000 season ticket holders since last year and for very good reason. If the 10,000 are wrong, you must be right !!!!!
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Anyway each to their own. The 10,000 know not what they do.
I suggest its about time kean/venkys are given their first chance. Particularly since the squad looks capable of challenging for promotion. A bit of support for a change would be huge for the side. Hostility is purely corrosive. Especially as venkys are adamant they will do the decent thing and wait for kean to get a fair crack of the whip.
RUinsane
says...
2:46pm Sat 4 Aug 12
On a serious note, it looks like some super secret agent has figured that young geezers sell for peanuts and if you can establish one in the first team they can sell him for millions, just like mincing Ronaldo. A new strategy?
MxMave
says...
2:58pm Sat 4 Aug 12
Gaz M
says...
3:04pm Sat 4 Aug 12
merlinrabbit
says...
4:00pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast wrote:Kean a fair crack of the whip? Are you smoking something? Kean has had more crack of the whip than Wild Bill Hicock. He is a dishonest, sleazy little loser. You should try writing fantasy novels, you might be taken seriously as you sure arent on here.
Harwoodstblue wrote:The very good reason is they are not very good supporters. Its equally counter productive to turn up at Ewood to be the other teams twelfth man.
the_iconoclast wrote:Rovers have lost 10.000 season ticket holders since last year and for very good reason. If the 10,000 are wrong, you must be right !!!!!
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Anyway each to their own. The 10,000 know not what they do.
I suggest its about time kean/venkys are given their first chance. Particularly since the squad looks capable of challenging for promotion. A bit of support for a change would be huge for the side. Hostility is purely corrosive. Especially as venkys are adamant they will do the decent thing and wait for kean to get a fair crack of the whip.
Ewood-b-happy
says...
4:41pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast wrote:****.
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
MxMave
says...
4:42pm Sat 4 Aug 12
merlinrabbit wrote:Ignore him, just another burnley fan with no stories to read so they jump on here and try to rile people up. No Rovers fan would say that if theyve even watched 2 games in the last 2 years.This is the reason Blackburn is a major town whereas Burnley has some of the highest unemployment rates in the uk. Its all down to breeding.
the_iconoclast wrote:Kean a fair crack of the whip? Are you smoking something? Kean has had more crack of the whip than Wild Bill Hicock. He is a dishonest, sleazy little loser. You should try writing fantasy novels, you might be taken seriously as you sure arent on here.
Harwoodstblue wrote:The very good reason is they are not very good supporters. Its equally counter productive to turn up at Ewood to be the other teams twelfth man.
the_iconoclast wrote:Rovers have lost 10.000 season ticket holders since last year and for very good reason. If the 10,000 are wrong, you must be right !!!!!
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Anyway each to their own. The 10,000 know not what they do.
I suggest its about time kean/venkys are given their first chance. Particularly since the squad looks capable of challenging for promotion. A bit of support for a change would be huge for the side. Hostility is purely corrosive. Especially as venkys are adamant they will do the decent thing and wait for kean to get a fair crack of the whip.
pbirty
says...
4:45pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast wrote:wish kean would just go.its frustrating being in the best league in the world for so long, only for this mob to decimate an established premier league club.only plus is an obvious 6 points and the knowledge that our 6 fingered neighbours will be smashing up their own town again.
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
pbirty
says...
4:47pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast wrote:this is their 3rd chance!!!!
Harwoodstblue wrote:The very good reason is they are not very good supporters. Its equally counter productive to turn up at Ewood to be the other teams twelfth man.
the_iconoclast wrote:Rovers have lost 10.000 season ticket holders since last year and for very good reason. If the 10,000 are wrong, you must be right !!!!!
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Anyway each to their own. The 10,000 know not what they do.
I suggest its about time kean/venkys are given their first chance. Particularly since the squad looks capable of challenging for promotion. A bit of support for a change would be huge for the side. Hostility is purely corrosive. Especially as venkys are adamant they will do the decent thing and wait for kean to get a fair crack of the whip.
Harwoodstblue
says...
5:23pm Sat 4 Aug 12
the_iconoclast wrote:You are in a fantasy world.......Nob-ed
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
peely
says...
6:47pm Sat 4 Aug 12
earwego
says...
11:35pm Sat 4 Aug 12
Rod of the Rovers
says...
11:24am Sun 5 Aug 12
thetop5
says...
12:19pm Mon 6 Aug 12
hasslem hasslem wrote:It is a poor state of affairs when fans are hoping Rovers get a real hammering. This is what Venky's have driven loyal fans to!
does seem very strange that we have a global development grand poo-bah (or whatever he is called) and yet the only players we sign come from portugal or west london.
.
a fish rots from the head down and summat smells very fishy round here.
.
i genuinely dont think this shebby sham ("words are cheap") has it in his power to dump kean - but if he does, then prehaps its best that we get a real hammering at portman road and hull give us a bl00dy nose at ewood before it is too late. i am not thinking of promotion - i am thinking of survival.
When Rovers were relegated, I thought at least Kean would be going. My concern now would be that after a hammering in the championship and relegation to div 1, Kean would still be in change!
bluefadingfast
says...
8:10pm Mon 6 Aug 12
Tanner1983 wrote:Maybe they are taking over Nandos
Wish kean would realise we dont need any more young players for the future! We need players of high quality to get us back into the epl. So far murphy, gomes, etuhu and nunes will be in and around the first team! The rest are a waste of resource! Venkys are definately opening branches in portugal! Hurry up! Get rhodes in and some DEFENDERS!
bluefadingfast
says...
8:16pm Mon 6 Aug 12
MxMave wrote:Interbreeding - they may have 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot, but they're no good if you can't count past 5 :)
merlinrabbit wrote:Ignore him, just another burnley fan with no stories to read so they jump on here and try to rile people up. No Rovers fan would say that if theyve even watched 2 games in the last 2 years.This is the reason Blackburn is a major town whereas Burnley has some of the highest unemployment rates in the uk. Its all down to breeding.
the_iconoclast wrote:Kean a fair crack of the whip? Are you smoking something? Kean has had more crack of the whip than Wild Bill Hicock. He is a dishonest, sleazy little loser. You should try writing fantasy novels, you might be taken seriously as you sure arent on here.
Harwoodstblue wrote:The very good reason is they are not very good supporters. Its equally counter productive to turn up at Ewood to be the other teams twelfth man.
the_iconoclast wrote:Rovers have lost 10.000 season ticket holders since last year and for very good reason. If the 10,000 are wrong, you must be right !!!!!
Rovers clearly have the worst "fans" in sport worldwide. If only we had the American franchise system then the club could move away from such a dim-witted area.
ROVERS "FANS" OUT.
KEANO TID.
IF THE SHIPS BROUGHT DOWN BY THE "FANS" CAPTAIN KEAN SHOULD GO WITH IT
Anyway each to their own. The 10,000 know not what they do.
I suggest its about time kean/venkys are given their first chance. Particularly since the squad looks capable of challenging for promotion. A bit of support for a change would be huge for the side. Hostility is purely corrosive. Especially as venkys are adamant they will do the decent thing and wait for kean to get a fair crack of the whip.

The-Jerome-and-Steve-Show says...
6:45am Sat 4 Aug 12